Why Nintendo Doesn't Care About Marketing

[@SparkyMK3]

Nintendo's stubborn individuality and refusal to follow trends is legendary and such a breath of fresh air in the gaming industry. That mindset goes all the way back to the days of Hiroshi Yamauchi: one of THE big no-nos when pitching an idea to him was "It's like something X company is doing, but it's BETTER!" Yamaguchi-San wanted to build his brand on games that stood out from the crowd and established Nintendo as its own thing instead of riding the competitions coattails, and that has paid long term dividends for the Big N. So it makes perfect sense that they don't rely on focus groups and marketing has no say in how the games are made. Heck, Kit and Krysta shared a story of how a high ranking exec got eviscerated during a huge company meeting for even daring to suggest that Nintendo copy what Xbox was doing around the time. I also read a story on Twitter that when pitched games, Nintendo politely but sternly refuses to look at story material or concept art--they only care if you have an actual game experience to pitch. To me, Nintendo at its heart is a toy company that just happens to make video games, not the other way around. The customers having a fun time and letting their brand speak for itself is ALWAYS their laser focused priority. Everything else is just gravy on top.

[@redstarfire4037]

Splatoon was one of those gameplay first projects. The whole thing started as some cubes flinging paint and it was fun. And then nintendo had trouble figuring out what paintwork to put on this fun game play until they landed on squids :D

[@quillion3rdoption]

Nintendo's focus on doing their own thing is a major double-edged sword, but you can't deny that they're great at wielding it.

[@megaminum8325]

"Refuses to look at story material" yeah that actually explains a lot

[@gilghedar30]

@@megaminum8325 Not all teams do that, but yes, some of them suffer so much about it because they believe the experience and the ideas must be above anything else. I don't agree with this mindset anymore but just for well-established and long-lasting series of theirs, for new IPs that's a perfect approach

[@luckerooni1153]

@@megaminum8325 you shouldn't look at the story when talking about pitching games, even companies nothing like Nintendo won't care

[@kitandkrysta]

So much truth is being told here. Thank you for sharing your stories, Bryan!

[@svee7597]

Kit and Krysta are awesome.

[@joshharris6083]

Nintendo of America didn't know about the Asian English Dub for Yo-Kai Watch anime

[@ADreamingTraveler]

I love this guy. Focus groups are AWFUL. 12 year old focus groups were why Insomniac's game FUSE failed so horribly. They had a good looking game and then brought in 12 year olds to tell them what kind of game they wanted so they completely changed the game and right now it sits as one of their worst reviewed games ever lol. If I remember right after that they stopped using things like that.

[@dirak418]

People love to talk trash about Nintendo, but they are the last ones that believe in just making FUN games and nothing more.

[@ChrisCarlos64]

I've been a Nintendo fan boy since the beginning with the NES. I love them, but they aren't without faults and should totally be called out on when they make mistakes. They also should be praised for doing things that are right for the consumers and gaming industry as a whole. We cannot forget that, because often it is easy to criticize something but rarely do we praise and lift up. For example, when the market has become saturated in this noise of high fidelity visuals, power consumption, and ballooning costs, I praise Nintendo for learning since the Wii days to not rush things. Their approach for innovation upon existing tech and optimizing current hardware for gaming has shown it is a formula for success. It also staves off the mass layoffs and high risks involved in these projects.

[@56ty_]

After all, Sony and Microsoft are tech/media giants. They just happen to make videogames. And it shows

[@fierymagpie527]

Don't let anybody else make fun games

[@megaminum8325]

Most of the issues people have with Nintendo are to do with their execs and their legal team, not their games or their devs

[@beanburrito4405]

The last AAA devs, you mean. Indie games are where it’s at

[@diegovargasdiego]

Nintendo doesn’t need to market itself, because they are the establishment. They can work to maintain that image, but they don’t need to prove anything

[@phattjohnson]

As long as they keep making some games in-house, keep some quality coders on the payroll and don't go woke, they can basically just keep doing what they've been doing since the 80s and they'll be fine..

[@knatkniht]

As long as they keep pushing out good games, that is. If they keep alienating their core fans like they have done a few times with more recent games, they will have to succumb.

[@souljastation5463]

​@@knatknihtwhat games are you talking about?

[@knatkniht]

@@souljastation5463 Pikmin 4 and Tears of the Kingdom mainly. Those games tend to favor broad appeal to a casual audience over strong design, story, or continuity. Although the quality of pokemon has also taken a nosedive and Nintendo hasn't even batted an eye.

[@ibraheemsony9947]

Totally agree. 👍

[@tsp184]

I love tuning in to these interviews, thanks a lot for putting out all those videos for us

[@Bread_Bug]

Nintendo knows a good game sells itself. No other convincing needed for the customer.

[@_sparrowhawk]

Interesting to hear from Retro but back in 2023, Nintendo released a video from the Zelda team showing off all the powers Link would have in the new game - they were literally telling disgruntled players , "Hey! We listened to you and put all these fixes back in the game!" Then again, it was just promoting the game with some awesome features, but I feel like Nintendo KNOWS what people are saying about their games - that's gotta be Marketing.

[@Ad-im1ne]

If only this were true 😔

[@Softlol]

@@Ad-im1ne For Nintendo fans it is. And Nintendo seems to only market their existing fans. Like EVERYONE that plays video games knows who Mario and Zelda (Link) is. One of the reason Nintendo doesn't need that much marketing when they have some of the best known mascots in gaming to date.

[@phattjohnson]

@@Softlol and for Nintendo's shareholders it is. It's the most trusted name in gaming for 40-odd years for a reason. But to say they don't advertise is silly. I remember first hearing about Majora's Mask on a B+W TV on a camping trip in 2000!

[@immortallix]

And yet metroid didn't start pulling big numbers until they farmed it out to the guys that killed castlevania

[@Kaybeeguy]

I won't lie, the title itself, to me, made it sound like it was gonna be a negative thing about Nintendo but it was actually the complete opposite lol

[@VivioSaf]

I mean ... if you change a little what they talk, it still showcases the main criticism of Nintendo: "They're arrogant on their own ways, and don't bend down to what others say, not even their fans."

[@knatkniht]

@@VivioSaf Good. They have too much wide appeal to be listening to fans now anyway.

[@caguay]

@@knatkniht it’s a good business practice and philosophy that has taken them where they are today, after all. However, by this point it feels like they tend to sacrifice core elements that make many people love and support their games for the sake of moving on to the next step. I think it was rather misguided or dismissive to relegate story to a secondary plane in TotK, when they could’ve expanded on what was stablished in the previous game further (from what was set up and worked on by a creative standpoint), but that’s not a major concern to them and probably never will be. I get it that their stories are worked around gameplay and only serve a practical purpose, but that doesn’t work well with a sequel to a massively acclaimed title like Breath of the Wild was, changing their approach just once would’ve made a huge difference. The game is great, it’s fantastic, but I think many people were let down for good when it came to the story and its continuity. Needless to say, I think we got the memo 😅 we shouldn’t expect that from Nintendo, and trying to find patterns or connections, tying everything together in a way that makes sense and feels rewarding is a waste of energy, and a way to risk feeling disappointed in the long run.

[@knatkniht]

@caguay I wouldn't even say it's more than just "good". Totk's issues run much deeper than its bad story.

[@caguay]

@@knatkniht oh phew, I usually give a little praise to TotK in case anyone takes issue with hearing criticism of the game. But yes, I agree: the game is deeply flawed, even when it’s fun and creative, but dropped the ball in many cases. I still can’t see the appeal of the Depths, or can’t really excuse the lack of more development in the base overworld. Just knowing that apparently we were going to have much more fleshed out sky map but someone said it would be “too much” or something so they cut it… makes me sad ngl

[@sleepdeep305]

I think they care just as much as other companies...they're just way, way fucking better and more efficient at it.

[@AaronPICAR]

Nintendo makes magic. I can take any Nintendo game that I've played over the last 36 years and know exactly where to go, exactly what to do and still be as enthralled as I was the first time. And to see my kids make the same discoveries is fun. Super Mario 3, Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time and soooooo many more games are works of art.

[@さたあか-w4h]

Nintendo has always been a consistent "toy maker" and does not hold the computer sacred. This attitude is what makes them very different from other game companies. They create game hardware as a new toy and game software to make the game hardware interesting to play with.

[@jnee]

Awesome insight and a great message. I think the title saying 'they don't care' is a bit misleading though. It's not that they don't care, they just do it right - the way marketing is supposed to be done where it doesn't interfere with development

[@warrenbradford2597]

So, Nintendo just let the games sell on their own. Not surprising since they have the most iconic, recognizable IPs in gaming.

[@SobmicSSBB]

"Great Marketing only makes a bad product fail faster." --David Ogilvy "Marketing is what you do when your product is no good." --Edwin Land You know marketing is a bad thing when even marketing pioneers say it's bad. Ever noticed how even in the public conscience there is only bad marketing, as whenever something fails people say it did because "it wasn't advertised well enough" and good marketing is hardly ever mentioned -- and when it is, it's mostly tongue-in-cheek repeating old commercial slogans? That's how you know it really is no good. A good product will sell by itself. I say that as someone who used to work in marketing.

[@lyianx]

And sadly so many tipple A projects spend WAY too much of their budget on marketing, and not enough on actually releasing a complete, bug-free game.

[@nothingrhymeswithorange5294]

Hey, if the game's good enough then word of mouth can do it's job.

[@durandus676]

Nintendo is a very Japanese company with how they behave. They survived the opening of Japan with Commodore Perry, and 2 world wars. That’s what Japanese companies are all about traditionally, resiliency and delivery of products or services.

[@blsto]

Nintendos marketing is all those KZbinrs talking, reviewing, playing their games, all those old ass parents passing the torch (controller) to their kids, Mario, Pokémon and Animal Crossing alone let alone Kirby And Zelda

[@thewaitingsnake]

Made my day. It's really heartwarming to know that higher ups at Nintendo really did respect Retro's creative vision

[@angelvillegas9604]

Nintendo will be the last gaming company left

[@theoneandonlymsg991]

Reggie Fils-aime: If it's not fun. Then why bother.

[@Marinealver]

I always hate marketers, all they do is sell 💩 and take credit for everything. I only trust a marketer half as far as I can throw them, and my only concern is that I'll throw them too far.

[@adult11252]

I think every company cares marketing, its foundation, but Nintendo has just done differently than the rest.

[@SEGAGIGA]

Maybe you're just oblivious to their "marketing". Aside from the ads, they have movies and theme parks. They have collaborations, like the happy meals.

[@nerdtuga9180]

The marketing must be dictated by the product, and not the other way around. I'm glad Nintendo gets it and I wish more companies, especially in the US, got it too.

[@chaselowell4567]

Because Nintendo is more concerned with making fun games than making a product

[@Nintendude.]

I've only seen the first part of the interview. (I'll see the rest later) I really loved this part, I find it interesting and funny at the same time. 1. They use focus groups. 2. They make the game based on what those focus groups say. The funny part... All that effort and American made games are not as viewed as highly as Japanese made games... In fact the western gaming is viewed far worst now that it was back then. So sad.

[@EmptyZoo393]

In a lot of industries, the customer doesn't really know what they want. In engineering you typically have to ask the customer what their problem is, go and visit them a bit and see it in practice, and then work on your solution. Folks will ask for the buzzwords without having a clue what they mean, and they won't know half of what makes a good product until it's actually in their hands.

[@JakeRyanBooth]

Japanese business philosophies are impactful and very structured.

[@gamesdog9067]

We’re about to see if they care about marketing for the Switch 2. Will it be a long campaign for a holiday release or a speedy one for March/April?

[@benji-menji]

Despite all the other problems that surround Nintendo, they are remain really good at making games. These days, they are at least fine but always have some merits that make them loved. I just wish they weren't disposable like how every other company does in their own weird ways.

[@knuclear200x]

Nintendo already sells as a recognized brand. They can sell games twice because they know their fans will buy them twice.

[@joshharris6083]

Nintendo of America didn't know about the Asian English Dub for Yo-Kai Watch

[@milestrombley1466]

They have more respect and very productive of their own games than other greedy companies.

[@danleedev]

Super Mario 64 is the current GOAT. Super Mario Bros. before that. Reasonable people can argue the Zeldas, but it's still Nintendo. Generation-for-generation, it's rarely my favorite stuff, but there's little argument that Nintendo is in a class all its own.

[@bronyferienminuet2125]

Their great. But leave palworld alone.

[@Dan_Jado]

So, nintendo firmly believe their products are good on their own. Its great when the product dictates the marketing, not the other way around.

[@ibraheemsony9947]

I love their game that way I owned every console they released sense games cube .

[@n1nj4l1nk]

"Nintendo doesn't care about marketing" Literally two of their biggest ip are adverts, they have a theme park as advertising, release films as advertising, they entered mobile gaming as a marketing strategy. The first screen you see when you turn on your Switch is an advertisement reel, they used to have their own trade show and have since moved to Nintendo Directs. They may not follow trends but to say they don't care about marketing is outright false.

[@QuizMasterEntertainment]

You missed the whole point. Nintendo is an entertainment company, not just a gaming company. The theme parks are just another venture, not a way to advertise their products. Of course the theme park will need some advertisement, but compare it to what other companies do about having entire shows and constant trailers for their projects that even then end up failing. In short, Nintendo doesn't care to make their products attractive as a cash grab, they just do their thing and keep their expectations to a fair point, less "We gotta make sure everyone knows about this game" and more "We are making this game, gotta be sure fans enjoy it." Seriously, they have preorders for a reason, hype needs to be built upon, but they don't have marketing meetings or strategies simply because they clearly do not care.

[@n1nj4l1nk]

@QuizMasterEntertainment I haven't missed the point, I was addressing the title of the video. Also Nintendo have said on record that mobile games, movies, and the theme parks are advertisements for their games. I'm arguing that Smash Bros and Mario Kart are playable adverts too. Just because they've gone more in on ad techniques that also bring them in money doesn't mean that they don't care about marketing. If you think they don't have marketing meetings or strategies then you're insane.

[@Nin10Guy]

He's clearly talking about his experience in the 2000's when Iwata and Reggie were running Nintendo not really referring to Nintendo in its current state. Nintendo as of now has definitely changed since then to be far more corporate ever since Furukawa took over. The Wii U era was arguably the last time Nintendo stuck to their philosophies before they had to drastically shift in mindset and leadership with the Switch.

[@knatkniht]

Try watching the video

[@n1nj4l1nk]

@@knatkniht try reading and comprehending what you're reading.

[@john_laser]

Palworld lawsuit shows who nintendo really is

[@Starwarp02]

meanwhile I have been getting billions of TCG Pocket ads😂

[@dainobu10]

I may not understand or agree with some decissions at Nintendo but they are to me by far the best developers in the industry.

[@CJinMono]

Since some people want to dismiss anything negative about Nintendo: Most criticisms against them have to do with their anti-consumer practices like killing off Virtual Console, essentially making people's purchases worthless. Just because they have good games in their portfolio doesn't mean they shouldn't be called out on the BS they do.

Metroid Prime 2 remake for switch when?

[@aaronwise1089]

(krabs):"I it be true mister tentacles"

[@wibulabu777]

Is He from ea ? 😅

[@Nintendude.]

Yeah since E.A. is huge and fires a lot of people or quit E.A. pretty much anyone in the western gaming industry has worked for E.A. at some point. Like he said he was in EA employee before working with Retro and he might have return to EA. at some point later. Retro Studios has a special case since E.A. HQ is (or was) in the same city. If you check the history of Retro Studios, EA had a thing with the company.....a bunch of rumors.

[@thomasking8831]

Nintendo spends more money and time suing their fans than marketing!

[@Nintendude.]

Lol.

[@seekingsolutions7078]

Well I guess that explains why the Wii U sold poorly. And what little marketing they did was crap. They also copyrighted channels for daring to post their games. It’s almost like they did everything in their power to have as little people as possible to know about them.

[@lpfan4491]

They should, after what happened with the WiiU. Great console wasted on bad marketing.

[@Real_The_Goof]

I do wish some times they WOULD pay attention to the rest of the industry... their online is still pretty bleh..

[@CraniamonRoyalKnight]

It's been a while that Nintendo doesn't care anymore about a lot of stuff like their own community that they don't give a sh*t anymore as we ask since 7 years for a new Star Fox, F-Zero, Kid Icarus and Tomodachi Life new game or a Star Fox Zero and Kid Icarus Uprising port or a Star Fox Adventures, Star Fox Assault and F-Zero GX remaster for the Nintendo Switch but they still don't care as they prefer playing deaf and release another cash grab game that we get too much on the Switch since 7 years with more than 10 Mario and Pokemon games, 7 Zelda games and 6 Kirby games while they don't do anything for somes and very few for others with just 2 Donkey Kong Country game port but we still wait for a new fresh game, 3 Metroid game, one new Animal Crossing and others. Plus they seem to enjoy more to sue random people just for money than to be carefull about their own reputation and watch what they doing about their own games and console when we see how ridiculous Nintendo are for sue Pocket Pair for Palworld for stupid reason and taking down fan project such Ocarina of Time remake and more than listen their own community. That why, rumour of Switch 2 or not, a lot of people will not care about the next Nintendo console because what the point to buy their next console when they will release something official about it when the day will come? Get better graphics but we eat the same cash grab game with a lack of variety due to too much favoritism for the same franchise? Somes of these cash grab franchise who are garbage such Mario Striker Battle League, Pokemon and Fire Emblem Engage? Having a paying online who don't bring anything special and can't release the Gamecube games for free on it just like the Nintendo Switch Online? Abusive expensive price for their game like Luigi's Mansion 2 HD being more expensive on the Switch while the original 3DS version of this game was less expensive when it was release for the first time while Nintendo will be more focus to sue random people than take care of what they do? No thanks and no need this useless next console unless you have too much money that you don't know what to do with it except loving throw money to the window for nothing.

[@randomduck8679]

The last time Nintendo made a new DKC game, people whinged

[@wildanbaxtli6913]

1. They don't really listen to fan request, You maybe right or you maybe wrong, anything can happen in company 2. Overprotective of their IP and the well being of their developer is not evil. You must be biased since you mainly pirate games, but pirating new games hurt the developer who still need return investment, And plagiarism is literally illegal any issue of it will be taken seriously. You can't blame them for being rabid. 3. Them also targeting old games that no longer on sale or shutting down fan project is annoying tho, I agree with that. But their legal team literally put statement that they won't touch fan project that either "not for commercial use or affecting the game sales in anyway". But all in all, it's proved that they're trustworthy toward developer, it helped smaller/inde developer alot 4. Too much favoritsm of the same franchise? Buddy, it's their 1st party games. Ofc they'll prioritize that. But even then, the total is much smaller than the console's total library which mostly includes 3rd party games which obviously not of the same "franchise favoritism" 5. Nobody care about switch 2? Really? Your small bubble maybe. Switch sales almost as big as PS2, it's been out since 2017 but the sales still going strong, leaving PS and XBOX in the dust. They can push back switch 2 for another 2-3 years, and I believe Switch would still sell well. Based on that, Switch 2 obviously a big topic. People not that often talking about it because there's literally no official news about it. Wait until there's reveal and see how crowd would react Based on your comment, you must be poor pirate who don't even know what you're talking about. Lots of your argument are so out of touch, even me who never play nor own Nintendo console can feel the anti-fanboy vibe. your source of opinion must be Nintendo meme and think it's the truth

[@wildanbaxtli6913]

@@CraniamonRoyalKnight you claim you own every Nintendo consoles had yet your argument is so out of touch. You might not a poor pirate but you obviously not up to date I mean, if you have N64, then you're either an old man who grow up with it and buy every gen on released day, which explains why you're so out of touch, or a collector who hunts for it which doesn't necessarily mean you're up to date with the news

[@CraniamonRoyalKnight]

​@@wildanbaxtli6913 I'm a poor pirate? Really? Pretty easy to judge someone that you don't even know with the fact that I have a N64, GCN, Wii, Wii U, GBA, DS, 3DS and Switch so, having those console at home with the games, mean I'm a poor pirate? So I guess others people who have a lot of Nintendo console are a poor pirate as well and that you are the only person in the world to be fully clean, huh? Plus where the heck I say pirate video game is a good thing? If you have taking time for read my comment, you will notice I never say a such thing but, as I see that you are nothing more than a simple fanboy filled with bad faith who prefers to live in his world of lies and who hate when we say realistic thing about Nintendo despite it negative, there's no point in bringing you back to your senses due to a lot of stupidity into your comment such I'm a anti-fanboy so, if I was really a anti-Nintendo fanboy, then, why did I buy since the 90s a lot of Nintendo console which are the N64, GCN, GBA, DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U and Switch? So being anti-Nintendo fanboy and give positive/negative reviews isn't the same thing but if you can't understand it neither, I can't still do nothing for help you as you seem so determinated to believe in your own world of lie that Nintendo is still good. Sure thing! Nintendo is so much good in 2024 that, most of the time, we get too much the same franchise so, by step back, we realize in 7 years we mainly have 4 exclusive franchise on one console who are mainly focus on Mario, Pokemon, Kirby and Zelda almost every years while we got a lack of various game who isn't another Mario, Pokemon, Kirby and Zelda among Nintendo exclusive franchise as, if your eyes could work (which it isn't the case) we just get 2 Donkey Kong Country game port, 1 new fresh Animal Crossing, 0 Kid Icarus and Tomodachi Life and others and that the online isn't free anymore on the Switch unlike the Wii, Wii U and 3DS when the online was for free but don't worry because, as you say as your breath is full of truth, Nintendo is so much perfect. Don't worry because I bet you gonna eat your own words when the next Nintendo console will coming when Nintendo will announce something officially when the day will come and that you will see the sales are inferior than the Switch but, like a consolation prize, more hight than the Wii U despite it will not be too much impressive as I know so far I'm not the only one to have been disappoint with Nintendo and the Switch due to somes wrong move from Nintendo and that we gonna wait somes years later after the release for decide if it worth to buy it or no so the reality gonna strike you pretty hard on you this day so don't complaint by claim I didn't warn you ;)

[@slimynaut]

shut up child

[@jsmith-h8m]

they care a lot thesedays they have crazy cash and marketing budget to do stupid shit

[@Nors2Ka]

The title is misleading, they very much care about marketing more than any other company, as evident by almost anything community made being worse than taboo. If it's not what they want it to be then it shall not exist.

[@Softlol]

I don't think that has anything to do with marketing. Thats just Nintendo bein super protective of their IPs.

[@QuizMasterEntertainment]

At least pay attention before commenting. Nintendo doesn't have marketing strategies or groups, they just sell the games as what they are. Also, if they just used anything fanmade as a boost in the community, that would lead more into marketing strategies, which again, they don't do.

[@knatkniht]

Buddy, most community made content is more than fine, you just cant advocate for piracy or make fan games that use their IP lol.

[@lagunax5645]

Yeah... too bad they're a complete garbage company when it comes to lawsuits.

[@wildanbaxtli6913]

Overprotective of their IP to the point of being mad rabid is not evil. If anything, it's actually a plus point from developer point of view. Still can't deny it's annoying tho since they also target old games that no longer on sales

[@lagunax5645]

@@wildanbaxtli6913 The Palworld lawsuit is not "overprotective", its "exploiting your home country's legal system to defraud a foreign competitor".

[@wildanbaxtli6913]

@@lagunax5645 lots of their design literally in grey area, because it's very similar some people even accuse it as plagiarism. If you play both you will see what I mean. 1 or 2 they may turn blind eye, but with that many? Nintendo or Gamefreak is stupid if they don't at least inquire about their intention

[@lagunax5645]

@@wildanbaxtli6913 Dead Wrong. 100% The Palworld lawsuit is NOT about creature designs, it is Ninendo attempting to PATENT A GAME MECHANIC, which they objectively/legally only patented AFTER Palworld's release. There is no defense. It is a completely fraudulent case and Nintendo is a disgrace.

[@lagunax5645]

@@wildanbaxtli6913 Bro, you don't understand. This isn't about having played the games, the LAWSUIT is NOT ABOUT CREATURE DESIGNS. That's just something the Nintendo fanboys ASSUMED. The lawsuit is ACTUALLY about PATENTING GAME MECHANICS, and is 100% fraudulent on top of that.